Most professional piano training focuses on 5 main areas of skill, these being: sight-reading, physical technique, theory, ear-training, and performance (not necessarily in that order). Each of these areas is important to the development of a well-rounded musician, but not treated equally in the traditional lesson structure. Traditional piano training primarily focuses on sight-reading from printed sheet music, physical technique, and performance preparation, whereas theory and ear training are usually taught on occasion, when time allows, or by other teachers outside the lesson. One of the single most important skills of good musicianship is the development of a musical ear, which oddly seems to be lacking in traditional piano lessons which favor note-reading over ear development.
In addition, the goal of the traditional piano lesson is to learn written pieces from music notation, acquire the technique necessary to surmount any technical obstacles in those pieces, and to perform said pieces in recitals. This process may take up to four to six months, and is entirely “goal oriented”, allowing little time for the development of inner beat, pitch awareness and inner hearing, curiosity, creativity, or expression. It is not unusual that the student feels frustrated and stressed during this process, which may actually reduce the student's enthusiasm for piano playing.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and a method for teaching piano, which focus more on the training of a musical ear, and which allows the process of learning piano to be fun and enjoyable.